Honors Course Requirements

Honors Scholars must take a total of 11 Honors courses in order to graduate with an Honors College diploma (exception: students enrolled in the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) must complete 8 courses; students who transfer into the Honors College will receive a contract specifying their required number of Honors courses).

Honors sections are identified with section numbers that begin with H or HM and with the word Honors in the title.

If you take Honors Chemistry or Honors Physics lecture, you DO NOT have to take the Honors lab section (it is optional).

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS IN COMPLETION OF HONORS COURSES

Honors students are expected to complete between 6 and 8 Honors courses in their first two years (3 to 4 for B.Arch). Students are expected to take two Honors courses each semester during the first two years (one per semester for B.Arch majors). When this is not possible, because of placement or other good reasons, you must consult with your Honors Advisor.

If you have difficulty fitting two Honors courses into your schedule, you must consult your Honors advisor.

GRADES

You must obtain grades of no lower than B in all courses taken to fulfill this requirement, except that one grade of “C” or "C+" is acceptable if balanced by an “A” in another Honors course. In no case will a grade below C be accepted as Honors. If a student obtains a grade below B without a compensating A - even if still a passing grade - the course cannot be used to satisfy the honors requirement. The course may be retaken as an Honors course, and if the grade is B or higher the course will be counted as Honors. If retaken as non-Honors it will not count as an honors course.

Some accelerated medical/dental programs have higher grade requirements. Students should discuss these requirements with their academic and Honors advisors.

ALTERNATIVES

NOTE: Effective Fall 2016, incoming Freshmen and transfer students will be able to participate in milestone learning experiences. For these students, courses towards a minor and 1-credit Honors labs will no longer count as Honors courses.

For all other students, part of the course requirements may be fulfilled through the following alternatives:

Minor, second major, and graduate courses: Non-Honors courses taken specifically to fulfill a minor or second major, and up to three (3) graduate courses, are counted toward the Honors Group A course requirement if such courses are not being used to fulfill a General University Requirement or a major requirement. However, such alternatives may not substitute for Groups B, C, and D. To count as a substitute, the grade must be at least a B. The minor or second major must be officially declared through the Registrar's office. A student does not have to be enrolled in the BS/MS program to take graduate courses, but such registration is encouraged. If you declare a minor or second major after taking courses that satisfy this requirement, please inform the Honors College so that these courses can be counted as Honors.

Limits: No more than four such alternative courses (total of minor, second major, and graduate courses; with no more than 2 courses from each of the categories.) may be used as Honors substitutes.

Project Option: In exceptional cases, and only with the prior permission of the Associate Dean, students majoring in certain programs may earn credits toward fulfillment of this requirement by completing Honors research or professional projects within their disciplines. Obtain permission in advance from the Associate Dean.

Converting a course from non-honors to honors: Please see the Substitute Course Policy for rules on converting a regular course to Honors.